One of Tott's letters from 1477 includes a passing mention of
foreign builders invited to Olofsborg, probably from Reval, where the city
fortifications were being extended. It was the first Swedish castle
provided with a set of thickset circular towers that could
withstand cannon fire. It is
not by accident that a network of lakes and waterways forms the
setting for the castle, for these would seriously impede a
prospective Russian offensive.

History

Olofsborg withstood several sieges by the Russians during the the First and Second Russian-Swedish
wars. A brisk trade developed under the umbrella of the castle
towards the end of the 16th century, giving birth to the town of Savonlinna, which was
chartered in 1639.

On 28 July 1714 the garrison capitulated to the invading
Russians, and it took them only two days to take the castle in
1743, in the events leading up to the Treaty of Abo which
awarded the entire region to Empress Elizabeth
of Russia.

Tourism

Currently, the castle hosts several small exhibitions, including
the Castle Museum which displays artifacts found in the castle or
related to it, and the Orthodox Museum which displays icons and
other religious artifacts both from Finland and Russia. The castle
forms a spectacular stage for the Savonlinna Opera Festival,
held annually in the summer since 1912.

Olavinlinna is the initial model for Kropow Castle in the comic
book King Ottokar's Sceptre, an album
in the series of Adventures of Tintin created by Hergé.[3]